If you’re new to Friday Fun, click here to read the first one before you get started!
And if you’re already familiar with Friday Fun, welcome back! Here’s a recap of some of our favorite moments from the week, the small little things that may or may not matter, but nonetheless colored and flavored our week.
–– We took a 24-hour trip to LA this week for Amy’s dad’s family reunion. It was the first time the entire family was together since Amy’s grandpa died ten years ago. We were still dating at the time.
–– Wow. Death references in the first line. We promise this Friday Fun… ya know… actually gets FUN.
–– When we walked into her grandma’s house, it was like entering a time machine. She’s lived there for SIXTY years and hasn’t really changed the design or decor since.
–– That’s something we’ve always loved and admired about her. She lives on just what she needs (nothing more). There isn’t a materialistic bone in her body.
–– That probably explains the ORANGE(ish) carpet color we’re SURE they don’t even make any more, and it definitely explains the fuzzy llama hanging on the wall.
–– There are, however, some feisty and funny bones in there. More than a few, in fact. After all, she’s IRISH.
–– At barely five feet tall hunched over her walker, she doesn’t hear as well as she used to, but the timing of her sarcastic jokes, with her slight squint and sweet smile, has never been better.
–– We’ve lost five grandparents since we’ve been together, almost one every other year, so we truly cherish the three we have left. So, whenever we’re with one of them, we take on the role of journalist and ask as many questions about their life as we can so we have a better understanding of who WE are and where we come from. We even request their best marriage and parenting advice.
–– The best parenting advice from Grandma? “Play pens,” she said seriously. That’s when she pointed to Amy’s dad (her oldest child), with a straight face, and remarked, “Kevin was in the play pen the longest… and he turned out fine.”
–– Then that slight squint and sweet smile. She was kidding the whole time.
–– Her stories about the Great Depression and World War Two were fascinating, but it was the little things we loved learning the most. Like the fact that she loves musicals, just like us. Although she feels strongly that Madonna ruined one of her favorites – Evita – so don’t bother trying to change her mind. You’d be wrong.
–– Of all the stories we heard last week, though, one stuck out in our mind that we have to share with you:
When Amy’s grandparents were much younger, Amy’s grandpa lost his job. With a wife at home and five mouths to feed, it would’ve been normal for Charlene to be scared of the future. To wonder if they’d have enough going forward to make ends meet. So, that week at church, instead of putting nothing in the collection plate to save for her family, she gave double. Someone needed it more than they did, she reasoned; and if life was going to give them a literal run for their money, they’d trust God with all of it.
–– That’s what happens when you combine a funny sense of humor and a feisty little spirit. You get a faithful little Irish woman whose few words and physical size never did justice to the way her life speaks and how big her heart is for others.
–– She would HATE this attention, by the way. So please don’t tell her we told you this. Because she’s not on the Internet, so the only way she’d find out… is if you actually told her this.
You can catch up on older, but equally awesome, Friday Fun posts by clicking here:
Edition 1 • Edition 2 • Edition 3 • Edition 4 • Edition 5 • Edition 6 • Edition 7 • Edition 8 • Edition 9 • Edition 10 • Edition 11 • Edition 12 • Edition 13 • Edition 14 • Edition 15 • Edition 16 • Edition 17 • Edition 18
